"The Rutgers women's basketball team - coached by C. Vivian Stringer, one of the classiest acts in all of sports - reached the Final Four, played earlier this week in Cleveland. The Scarlet Knights beat Louisiana State for the right to play powerhouse Tennessee in the final.

Months after Greg Schiano's football team established itself on the national scene, the women's basketball team brought more positive attention to Rutgers athletics. Within days, the team's members are slurred on national TV and their university president and the NCAA are issuing joint statements in their defense.

Imus brought this up specifically to sneer at the physical appearance of the Rutgers women, calling them "nappy-headed hos" in stark contrast to the "cute" Tennessee players. What kind of man feels the need to heap scorn on young women who play college basketball? Take the racism out and the remarks are merely unnecessary and cruel."

And C. Vivian Stringer demonstrates the power of character in her statement. Here's an excerpt:

"To serve as a joke of Mr. Imus in such an insensitive manner creates a wedge and makes light of the efforts of these classy individuals, both as women and as women of color. It is unfortunate Mr. Imus sought to tarnish Rutgers' spirit and success. Should we not, as adults, send a message of encouragement to young people to aspire to the highest levels as my team did this season?

"It is of the utmost importance to be an inspiration to young people and I truly believe my team represented Rutgers University, the state of New Jersey, and NCAA student-athletes across the country in the highest manner. I am proud of these young women and strongly encourage Mr. Imus to instead read the headlines and the stories that told of our triumphs the past six months."

NABJ has its say (hat tip to MultiCultClassics): "Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said Imus should be fired. “Those comments were beyond offensive,” said Monroe on the NABJ web site."

There is support for Rutgers from UT fans, too. Here's an example, from Poster Girl: "I hate to give the guy publicity for a series of stupid comments, but, I think it's important that we all take note of the bigotry that still exists in our country today (and the microphones available to particular bigots). For a long time, I have hated that MSNBC airs Imus' show each morning, and now I think I might have to write a letter expressing my supreme disdain for their support of Mr. Imus.

I don't care if my team won by 13 points the other night. Coach C. Vivian Stringer and the Lady Scarlet Knights are to be respected and admired for their efforts. They are not to be insulted or slandered because of their race or ethnicity."

» http://instapundit.com/archives2/003975.php from Instapundit.com (v.2)
LADY VOLS FANS DEFEND RUTGERS from Don Imus's slurs. I had missed Imus's slurs, but then, I miss most of what Imus does. UPDATE: More on Imus here. ANOTHER UPDATE: Much more on Imus, from RadioEqualizer.... [Read More]

Tracked on April 08, 2007 at 10:35 AM

» http://instapundit.com/archives2/003975.php from Instapundit.com (v.2)
LADY VOLS FANS DEFEND RUTGERS from Don Imus's slurs. I had missed Imus's slurs, but then, I miss most of what Imus does. UPDATE: More on Imus here. ANOTHER UPDATE: Much more on Imus, from RadioEqualizer. Conclusion: "Had this been... [Read More]

On Imus's sports, he gives rodeo scores, to make a joke of the score-presenting movement. The fiction is that the audience should care about it, and the joke is acknowledging that they don't. It's a media pretend game, for their soap opera news demographic.

One way to wobble the sports-format fiction is to call the players ugly. There's scoring that wasn't contemplated in the official story line! That's what it was.

Now, college basketball already trades on this media coverage, and so is fair game for ridicule, along with everybody else.

Removing all the masks, the nearest I can some to the actual situation is :

The women's response should have been that we're not trying to be pretty, we're trying to be good at basketball.

And the Imus response is that mostly people don't care about your hobby, so don't expect them to.

Then everybody is happy.

That MSNBC and WFAN go all nervous about racism is shameful. Take the matter to your university Lit Crit 101 professors and have them analyze the joke for you. The real sin is getting wrong what is going on, and then trying to trade on the mistake.

I think it is only fitting that Imus, who regularly calls Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld 'war criminals' is now being labeled a racist. Fire him - but not for political correctness; can him for being unfunny, a whiney bore, a self-congratulator, and for having shitty taste in music.

Imus is a jerk. In this case, he's also correct. The Rutgers players look like hoodlums and skanks.

Imus' lack of tact aside, how is it that he is a racist for what he said? Did he not also say the UT players are cute? Are not most of UT's players black, er, "players of color" as well? This whole silly controversy reminds me of the idiots who get upset anytime some person of pallor uses the (perfectly legitimate) word, "niggardly." Sensitivities run amok, I tell you.